2 Kings 25:10
in 2 Kings 25And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
KJV
And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
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This verse in 2 Kings 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWhat think you of Nebuchadnezzar? Have you not heard from Scripture that he was bloodthirsty, fierce, with the disposition of a lion? Have you not heard that he disinterred the kings? Have you not heard that he brought the people away into captivity? Have you not heard that he put the king's sons to the sword before Zedekiah's eyes and then blinded him? Have you not heard that he shattered the cherubim?
This site's exposition
the seventh day of the fifth month
on 2 Kings 25:8-10
Nebuzaradan burns "the house of the LORD" first, then "the royal palace," the destroyer's order following the builder's own priority of temple before palace. The walls come down last, a formal demolition carried out by "the whole army of the Chaldeans."
This site's exposition
broke down the walls around Jerusalem
Matthew Henry notes that the walls around Jerusalem stayed broken until Nehemiah rebuilt them, about a hundred and forty years later. Nehemiah 1:3 still reports the wall broken down. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that Nebuzaradan came to Jerusalem after the siege to raze the city and its walls.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Sin unwalls a people and takes away their defence. These walls were never repaired till Nehemiah's time. The residue of the people are carried away captive to Babylon,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
His office as captain of the guard (Ge 37:36; 39:1) called him to execute the awards of justice on criminals; and hence, although not engaged in the siege of Jerusalem (Jer 39:13), Nebuzar-adan was despatched to rase the city, to plunder the temple, to lay both in ruins, demolish the fortifications, and transport the inhabitants to Babylon.
Brake down the walls - In the same fifth month, Jer 1:3, the walls of Jerusalem being razed to the ground, all that were left in the city, and all that had fled over formerly to Nebuchadnezzar, and all the common people of the city, with all the king’s treasures, those of the nobles, and the whole furniture of the temple, did Nebuzar-adan carry off to Babylon. See Jer 39:8, Jer 39:9; Jer 52:14, Jer 52:
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And the defectors. [Those] who obeyed Nevuchadnetzar and went out to him from the city, as in, “When he went to Tziklag, [members] of Menashe defected to him, etc.” 6 I Divrei Hayomim:21.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חוֹמֹ֥ת | chomot | [the] walls of | H2346 → | 133 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| סָבִ֑יב | saviv | all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| נָֽתְצוּ֙ | natetzu | they broke down | H5422 → | 42 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חֵ֣יל | cheil | [the] army of | H2428 → | 246 times |
| כַּשְׂדִּ֔ים | kasdim | [the] Chaldeans | H3778 → | 80 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | [was the] chief of | H7227 → | 454 times |
| טַבָּחִֽים׃ | tabachim | [the] bodyguards | H2876 → | 32 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
חוֹמֹ֥ת[the] walls of
chomotH2346 →133 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
סָבִ֑יבall around
savivH5439 →336 times
נָֽתְצוּ֙they broke down
natetzuH5422 →42 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
חֵ֣יל[the] army of
cheilH2428 →246 times
כַּשְׂדִּ֔ים[the] Chaldeans
kasdimH3778 →80 times
אֲשֶׁ֖רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
רַב־[was the] chief of
rav-H7227 →454 times
טַבָּחִֽים׃[the] bodyguards
tabachimH2876 →32 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nehemiah 1:3And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
it leads to
- Nehemiah 2:17
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we…
- Nehemiah 2:13
So I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and the…
- Nehemiah 2:17
Through
Jeremiah 39:8The Chaldeans set fire to the palace of the king and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 1:3
And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
- Jeremiah 38:18
But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself…
- Jeremiah 21:10
For I have set My face against this city to bring disaster and not good, declares the LORD. It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, who will destroy it…
- Jeremiah 52:13–14
He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
- Nehemiah 1:3
Through
Jeremiah 5:10Go up through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not finish them off. Strip off her branches, for they do not belong to the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:27
For this is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be desolate, but I will not finish its destruction.
- Psalms 78:61–62
He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.
- Jeremiah 4:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 2:17-19; F. W. Farrar, The Second Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.